Quest [Syka Quest] Sacrifices At Sea

[Daekos Volundur]

Daekos scowled as the Dawn Sister began moving off. His many years on land, coupled with the occasional boat ride - or, more accurately, a ship journey, had not endeared him to the sea. He could not swim very well - only managing the roughest of dog paddles, and he would not have time to regain his long-lost sea legs before the ship moved at an uncomfortable speed. He could already feel the first tinges of seasickness coming his way. His ever-faithful Jivatalus Ghost Dog, Hundwin, was excitedly prancing about, seemingly unaffected by the mal de mer that was attempting to get a grip onto Daekos.

Why did I sign up for this? Oh right, I was being bloody curious. I pray this... Sickness flees me afore I commence regurgitation of breakfast. But that's what my sacrifice's for, ain't it?

The captain was multiple-marked by Laviku, meaning that he should at least be closer to the Sea God than many Svefra. Daekos felt slight relief, but it didn't last long as the ship started to accelerate. Daekos hung onto the cordage of the rigging, his scowl magnified.

Once he had gotten used to the sensation a few minutes later, Daekos released his death-grip on the ropes, swaying slightly as he attempted to get used to the motion of the ship beneath him. He moved off to a quieter area where the sailors going about their business would be less likely to disturb him. After all, this sacrifice held meaning for him.

It had been two years since he heard of his parents' deaths. His father was not very close to him, and he would give up his ring with only the slightest amount of regret and unwillingness. His mother on the other hand...

From his earliest days Daekos connected warmth with his mother. Under the mountains of Kalea he would always feel warmth whenever his mother was around. She had taught him, fed him, played with him and comforted him when he was feeling down. Of course, there were the scoldings, the punishments. Not that he was fond of such things, but there was a certain feeling of nostalgia present as he reminisced.

Well, this is going to be harder than I thought. Never thought I'd be reluctant to let go of this ring - rings.

"Laviku. You and I are strangers to each other, barely acquaintances. Your realm is alien to mine mountainous land, but even so it is life for others as it is an oddity that makes me uncomfortable every time I journey across its surface."

A dry chuckle escaped his mouth, Daekos glancing towards Hundwin, who was playing around with some stray twine he had found, before turning back to gaze into the depths of the sea.

"You know, I've always wondered what it would be like to plumb the deepest valleys of the sea. I've gone some way into caverns, but never as extensive as some of the expeditions have. But I'm trying to delay the moment I have to give up these rings, aren't I? All this blather."

Daekos took a deep breath.

"Silver is cheap enough, but this was forged by my own parents, and they each have their own personal touch. These are the last remainders, the last things I have to remember my father and mother by. This is the only thing that has reminded me of my own family since I left Sultros - even in the years I spent in Sahova I have never forgotten them. With this gone, I will forget. Perhaps it will be for the best. Dwelling on such matters wouldn't be healthy. But..."

Daekos opted not to continue, feeling that he had gone on too long about his latent feelings about his parents. Particularly the regret.

He removed the twin rings, each a mirror copy of the other except with the engraved marks of his father and mother, from his ring fingers slowly, and cast them into the ocean, watching them sink away from his sight.

"That's that then. I pray, Laviku, that you will find them worthy and grant me a blessing. Perhaps you could start by having us taken safely across your seas to Syka?"

Daekos chuckled, making a small attempt at humor to distract him from the loss of something he had always taken for granted.

"Have a good day, Laviku. Come on, Hundwin. I think I can get you something to chew on from one of the ship's cooks."

Daekos and Hundwin, the latter still wagging his tail rapidly, moved towards the main body of the ship, where the others were making their own sacrifices.

[Lucas Arias]

Lucas stood on the deck of the Dawn Sister and watched the crew and his fellow adventurers with interest. Somewhere between their arrival in Riverfall and now they seemed to have decided to be a little less incompetent and tried to successfully get the expedition underway instead. The sailors likewise seemed to know what they were doing. He noticed that they were hald naked, but ufortunately they were also all male. Lucas would really have loved to watch a couple of half naked female sailors, but alas, the only interesting women seemed to be among the members of the expedition – and they had their clothes on.

While some of the people around him looked nervous, Lucas wasn’t nervous at all. In fact the former squire was excited. His eyes were wide, and he was smiling all over his face. He had never been on a ship before! He looked at everything, the sail, the mast, the sea that was everywhere around him. He felt as if he was finally doing something useful with his life, something great! This would be his first big journey! In a decade or two everybody would be comparing him to Kenabelle Wright! They would talk about how he had escaped the fortress of Syliras, survived the Aperture, flirted with Eypharians and Symenestra and conquered the terrible jungle of Falyndar and survived the Myrian cannibals!

As people started making their sacrifices, the redhead stopped smiling and furrowed his brow instead. He had never sacrificed anything before, and he wasn’t good at praying either. His gods Kelwyn that had marked him weren’t exactly like the other gods, they were quirky and unpredictable and had a strange sense of humor. Besides, he didn’t have anything that would make a good sacrifice. He didn’t have any valuable possessions. At first he had thought of making a sculpture or a drawing for Laviku, but there hadn’t been enough time.

Finally he rummaged through his bag and removed a deck of cards. „Laviku“, he said as he threw it into the water. „I don’t own any gemstones or pretty things made of glass, so I hope that you like these cards. I used them a lot when I was living in Syliras and Nyka, and I had fun with them. Do gods ever play cards? If not, you can give them to somebody else or sell them. I hope that you’ll grant us a safe journey though. Dying would kind of suck. I’ll even make another sacrifice to you when we arrive.“

[Delilah]

As she heard the others making sacrifices, she listened closely to what the others said. All the gifts were very different, everyone gave away something that was worth something, or had some kind of use. She felt a little sorry for her sacrifice, it wasn't very much. But it was the only thing she owned that had a significant amount of worth. And even then it had no monetary value. The only other thing she could think to do would be to dump money right over the edge of the boat, but somehow she thought this would be more meaningful. Delilah climbed up onto the side of the boat, hanging on to some of the ropes attached to the side of the boat. She pulled out the picture, unfolded it, and stared at it one last time. Coach must understand, she knew he would. She folded up the paper again and tried to think of something to say to the god. "Umm... Hello?" She said, though she expected no response "I'm very sorry for my sacrifice Laviku. It isn't worth much, but I don't have anything else to give. It means a lot to me though. I hope you can help all these people through this journey. I don't know a lot of them very well, and I've already forgotten some of their names. But this is important to a lot of people. They all have a reason, if it's renewal, a second chance, or adventure. I don't really know why I'm here, but I do know I want them to make it. Please keep everyone safe. Thank you." She hugged the piece of paper, kissed it, and then held it out, and released it into the sea. It gently floated down into the water, where it float in place for a few minutes, and then began to sail away on the wakes of the water. Delilah watched it sail away, as she went through the memories of her coach. A wave of sadness washed over her as she realized that she just let go of the very last thing she had to remember him by. Aside from her hands, and his lessons. She'd find a away to make money with boxing, then she would become famous, and make him proud. And she would find a way to be useful on the trip..... somehow....

[Gossamer]

OOC NOTEI'm assuming everyone has had plenty of time - 13 days irl - to make their sacrifices. So we’re moving on. The Sea portion of our adventure starts here.

As the two sister ships held in the water at the mouth of the bay and the sailors and adventurers made their sacrifices, the sea was not littered with debris as one would think. Each ship held over a hundred and eighty lives, including livestock, so the sea by rights should be littered with floating offerings. Instead, as each man and woman made his sacrifice, the gifts hit the water, shimmered, and vanished instantly below the surface. Nothing that should have floated did. Instead, moments after each item was covered with salt water, it vanished – one would swear – in a flare of blue light.

And then the dolphins arrived. They leaped and bounded around the ship, laughing with their perpetual smiles. Sometimes these great mammals were seen in the plunge pool, but more often one or two could be seen escorting ships in and out of the harbor and playing in the sailing vessels wake. Often fisherman dumped their chum for the sea creatures, giving them the leftovers they had no way to preserve overnight. But this time, the dolphins expected no treats. Instead, they were there with gifts for the individuals.

Sailors of all ranks were gifted back, some large items, some small, all in proportion to what they’d sacrificed. Sirroco, having tossed over a necklace that had meaning to him all his life, hand a decidedly white dolphin leap up towards the ship at him and tossed him a small tube that appeared just to be the grip of a weapon. It was palest ivory and fit his palm perfectly. Seemingly made, the grip or handle had some intricate workings of shells around one end. If Sirroco investigated the shells or pressed on them, a spear of fierce proportions would suddenly manifest out one or both ends of the weapon, glowing slightly in the morning light.

Delani slipped her y’vas over the edge, gifting something that while simple, had been huge with meaning for her. It held a lifetime of memories, having been with her when she was injured and all that she loved was taken from her. It vanished into the depths and in its place a dolphin rose and handed her a leash. The leash had the sign of Nikali on its leather grip. It was sturdy, thick, as if for a big dog, and Kenval’s eyes – who was standing almost next to her – widened. “A Nikali Leash. Wow, I haven’t seen one of those in ages.” He said, shaking his head and making his long hair flow around him almost roguishly. “Keep that thing off me.” He added with a crooked smile and turned to accept a gift of his own. It was a whistle of glowing gold which he peered at curiously and turned over and over in his hands.

Mathias was handed a chest by the largest dolphin anyone had ever seen. It was large enough to perhaps hold a fully dressed out baked chicken, but the man did not open it and reveal its contents, at least not in front of the crew and adventurers.

Brodon pitched his figuring reluctantly over the edge of the boat and it vanished almost instantly. The dolphins were a long time coming in getting back to him. He stood at the rail while the others received their items and waited, chaos swirling around him. Then suddenly, black as night, a dolphin leaped and deposited a wooden baton carved with feathers into his hands. It was marked with the symbol of Eywaat upon its ends. The item did not glow, nor did it appear to be anything unusual nor give him any odd sense in holding it. It was wet from the sea and slightly slimy as if something had been growing upon its wooden surface, but a quick wipe would solve that.

When the lovely Eleret tossed over her wooden staff, a dolphin leaped immediately towards her, playfully slapping the water with its tail to splash her even though it too had a gift for her. Dolphins and Konti went hand and hand. The creatures whistles and chirps were almost a language, one that Eleret might have been able to follow in the depths of the sea. But eventually its playfulness ran out and it deposited in her hands what looked like a leather case of pure white. Inside the case, which had an oldly long and rounded form, was a magnifying glass. It was elegantly wrought with carved flowers in its silver handle, and the curve and depth of the glass itself was expertly crafted. It did not glow nor give off its own warmth, but it was unusually beautiful nonetheless.

When Abase gave the shirt off his back, several of the sailors raised their eyebrows, thinking the sacrifice not enough. But the sea took the shirt anyhow and gave back like in kind. A threadbare cloak was gifted to Abase, delivered between two dolphins that seemed to be having a tug o’war with it. Woven from what appeared to be seaweed, the thing had a deep rich sea odor and barely reached his knees if he were to try it on. Made more of gaps than solid seaweed fabric, the cloak was about as unassuming as anything handed back to the sailors thus far.

When Lacerta tossed out the glass orcania, the sea boiled a moment and then a dolphin of the plain grey variety leaped up and offered to her hands a metal compass. It was not a ships compass, though one would suspect that would be what Laviku would return. Instead it was a small hand held one that was inlaid with precious gems and seemed to spin of its own accord. It was only when Lacerta stopped and became very very still did it start pointing northward and then only sometimes.

When the small Pycon made his offering, Dolphins leapt and spent a few minutes playing with the py-pole before they released it and let it vanish into the depths with a brilliant blue glow. One dove, the other hot on its tail, and they rose tossing something between them. It was a tiny crossbow, just Kench’s size, with abalone inlays on its stock. It showed no signs of having any bolts with it though, as they handed the weapon over to Kench. If he took a minute, he’d find he could pull the lock and cock the crossbow with no effort at all, not even remotely damaging his clay with the taught string. If he tried the trigger, he’d find a magical water arrow automatically having loaded itself in the channel as if appearing from no where, and firing. The watery arrow would turn solid as it arched out and away from the crossbow. The weapon was small, but indeed very deadly.

When the vial of holy water was tossed overboard, it vanished quickly into the depths. Levissa was made, not unlike Brodon, to wait almost a small eternity until the dolphins rose up and offered her something. She was given, completely contrary to her gift, a weapon protectively buried in a small leather sheath. The dagger was ornate, completely black, and had Dira’s symbol etched into its pommel. And while it looked dangerous, it gave Levissa no foreboding if she were to draw it and look upon its ebony blade.

When Ialari tossed over the Izentored tooth fashioned into a dagger, the thing was almost immediately absorbed into the ocean. Laviku liked magic, a great deal, even those crafted by mortals and gifted to him in his own realm. He often swapped them item for item if such a sacrifice was made. A dolphin, pale and luminescent with blue rose and deposited a head band in Ialari’s hands. The headband was made of a strange metal and etched with symbols that looked familiar to Mathias, who had been watching from across the deck. He recognized the Nyavanni artifact, even if no one else there did. Made of some sort of bone, the headband wasn’t rigid though. It was in fact slightly flexible, as if the bone had been softened to the consistency of leather. There was an obvious front and back to the band as well, though it could be folded up and placed in a small pack without trouble.

As the smith Daekos tossed his rings, the dolphins reacted immediately. They grabbed the glittering items and played tug of war between them. Unlike the other items that had vanished immediately beneath the water, the silver of the rings seemed to do something else entirely. They expanded, warped, and reformed into larger editions of themselves. Breaking at the back, the dolphins seem to take great joy out of manipulating the soft silver, even though there wasn’t much material in the items to begin with. Doubling then tripling, then becoming numerous times their volume, the dolphins tossed the rings back to Daekos with a knowing eye. They had become bracers, both of them, pure metal, not silver, and backed with leather with fasteners in the back to be laced into place to guard his wrists. When he touched them, his body felt stronger, any aches he had seemed to vanish, and he inherently knew that wrapped around his wrists and tightly laced they would give him instant relief from the constant work he’d have to do at the forge once he crossed the sea.

When Lucus’ deck of cards flew over the edge of the ship’s rail, a dolphin, this time very young and very small rose up and deposited a trio of long almost flat ivory toothed dice in the young man’s palm. They were marked on one side with Avalis’ symbol, but on other side each had a word. “Yes”. “No”. And “Unknown.” Where marked on the dice. They looked like they belonged together in a very cohesive matching set. And as the dolphin’s deposited them in Lucas’ hands, none of them were word side up. Instead they all displayed the Seer’s Lily. Eleret, being Konti, might recognize them as powerful divination tools of Konti Origin called Decision Stones. There were only a few rumored to be out in the world.

Finally, when little Delilah tossed out the paper, it only floated a moment before it glowed and vanished. The dolphins didn’t forget her, not in the least, as one rose up and tossed a small otterskin bag at her. It was just her size, and something told her if she opened it up, that what was inside was very very important. The bag, once examined, would be revealed to have seeds within. The seeds were all different varieties, though some were duplicates, and though she didn’t have time to count them there on the deck of the ship, it looked as if the seeds had a dozen of each kind and about fifteen different varieties at that.

When Delilah received her offerings, the frenzy around the ships in the water dispersed. The dolphins disappeared, and Mathias spoke to the Captain a moment. The Captain gave orders to his first mate, who in turn barked out orders to ‘get underway’ and the sails were unfurled again, sailors clamored all over the deck, and slowly the wind caught the twin ships and began hurling them forward. The Dawn Sister took the lead, towing any craft behind her that was excess and couldn’t keep up. The Dusk Sister, by far the heavier of the vessels, lumbered in her wake, both setting a course once free of the harbor to the south and west.

It was going to be a good day for sailing.

[Abase]

Abase's eyes widened as he saw what was brought forth to him. His hands held up, he accepted the gift, smiling broadly to the dolphins that brought it forth. He nodded his thanks, "Laviku is too good. Please tell him I grateful. Is most wonderful gift ever received."

The Akontak beamed down at the item in his hands, his fingers running over the fabric even as his nose was filled with the scent of the sea. After just a moments hesitation Abase wrapped the cloak about himself, laughing when he saw it did not quite reach his knees. Still it was beautiful, marvelous even. He felt a bubbling excitement in the pit of his stomach, a lancing feeling of joy stabbing his heart and filling him to the brim with hope. He could not sit still and be idle as other men worked, so as the others began than work Abase would leap to grab the ropes, pulling himself up on the railing to wave a farewell to the Dolphins, to Riverfall, to the life he had lived before. Closing his eyes Abase breathed deeply, "Is good day. Sea bless us. I pray to all who watch and guide us now, please be with us and hear prayers. I pray new friends have good journey, and I pray we ALL make it to new land. Avalis, bless me to see what my eyes no can see. Let me see a future even brighter than this present."

Swaying in the wind Abase opened his eyes and smiled upward, and the leapt back onto the deck, moving to find some way he could be helpful.

[Delani Denusk]

Delani watched the dolphins swarm the ships, fascinated by this beautiful display of aquatic acrobatics. They were creatures as much myth to her as the Charoda met in yesteryears had been. They even resembled them, slightly, though with less humanoid features. They sprang and they dove, carrying items for those who had sacrificed. She observed Sirroco's reward curiously, her brows raised at the obscure handle he was gifted and wondering what wonders it may contain.

Likewise did she note their intrepid leaders gift, jade eyes studying from afar the modest chest he received. Her curiosity piqued as the man took it from the enormous porpoise but chose not to open it. What secrets might lay within? Subconsciously, the drykas rubbed the back of her right hand. Others were receiving gifts in tandem too, though she noticed an obvious wait Brodon and Levissa suffered. The delicate clicks before her brought the woman's attention back to the water and the mottle-striped pattern of a snout-less variety rose to greet her. It was a beautiful creature, flesh so smooth and glistening with the brine of fresh and salt. It trilled in its own way as it offered up the gift from the god of the Sea: a leash.

Reaching for the leash, she plucked it gently from the dolphins blunt-nosed mouth and straightened, examining the thick leash and the scarlet chain sigul upon it. It seemed too large for any of the deerstalkers she now had down below. They were hardy and large, but not, she thought, for the likes of this. Running the tips of her right hand fingers over the signature, the woman looked askance at Kenval when he spoke from beside her. "Nikali?" She tested the unfamiliar name and studied the amazement in his face. An item not seen in ages? How strange! She itched to call upon the lykata and see what Eyris might let her of this strange objects past. Where had it come from and why was it given to her? What purpose might it serve on this adventure? "Forgive me, Kenval, but that is something I am not familiar with."

The crooked smile and addition of 'Keep that thing off me' made her hesitate to investigate it, eyes lowering to the leash and turning it over in her hands for study. If the information she gleaned were useful, her curiosity was justified; but what if the object was cursed? What if, upon sifting through the little information she gleaned, some foul thing happened in the process. Immediately, she was reminded of what her Matron told her: There is a price for all knowledge; sometimes that price is blood.

Concentrating inwards, Delani folded her hands around the leash and closed her eyes, drawing upon the lormar-marking and Eyris' blessing to see from wence this had come. Just before doing so, she made a mental note to speak more with Kenval about the Nikali Leash and what it was exactly. If he had seen it in use before, perhaps he would have answers the objects history would not yet reveal.

[Delilah]

Delilah watched as all the sacrifices began to disappear under the water. She had never seen anything like it before, and was almost afraid of it. As the dolphins showed up, Delilah became more and more worried that her gift wasn't quite enough, or not as good as the others. She watched everyone receive their gifts from the sea creatures, and looked over the deck just as her sacrifice went under and disappeared. Then a bag was flung at her from the dolphins, which she got and held on to with everything she could. Surprised and relieved that she had been given a gift at all, she slowly opened the bag, not wanting to damage any of the contents. As she peeked in, Delilah found that it was full of seeds. Some of them looked the same, and some of them she had never seen before. She couldn't name any of them by the looks, but they weren't all different from each other. Unsure of what they were, or who to ask about them, Delilah closed the bag and kept it close to her, determined not to let her gift leave her side. She needed to find someone to ask, someone who knew about plants. Though Delilah had no idea who would know. She wasn't worried though, she had plenty of time before they reached Syka to ask around. And even once they landed, she was sure someone would know. Her only worry for now was keeping her seeds safe. Delilah held tight onto her bag, and began to walk around the ship looking for a good way to waste time.

[Brodon Windriver]

Brodon quickly felt conspicuous. The others on the ships had been receiving gifts in return for their sacrifices. He stood waiting, but there was no indication that he was going to be gifted as well. He felt eyes on him, eyes of several people also noticing this apparent exclusion. The looks bore no ill will, in his perception, no judgement of inadequacy, or concerns of bad luck. It seemed there was more sympathy than anything.

But if anyone was to have asked him, he would have said he was content. And he would have meant it. In his estimation, he had given a gift that Laviku would have no use for. Why should there be any reciprocal gesture? He had no doubt that the Sea Lord knew what meaning it held for him, though. And he had said more than once that if the animals were granted safe passage, and the people left to fend for themselves he would call it a fair trade. He took the pause to mean that Laviku had accepted his bargain. And that was more than enough.

He swelled with pride, though he thought perhaps some of those nearby believed he was taking deep breaths against giving in to tears of disappointment and shame. He knew he needed to set the record straight. He thought for a moment, in an effort to gather words in common, not one of his strengths, to explain his interpretation of this occurrence. A slight swell of waves brought an instinctive hand to the rail, as he began to shift his weight. Suddenly a dolphin, black as night, rose from the water and nudged his hand from the rail, depositing an item there as his jaw dropped in astonishment.

He looked in awe at the simple rod. As some of the sea foam ran down his arm, the symbol of crossed feathers was revealed. The feathers were the same black as the dolphin had been. Awe shifted to reverent curiosity. He had seen this symbol before. When he had crossed the Burning Lands the first time, a horseless victim of bandits, he knew nothing of desert survival. Yet he persevered, learning much in the crucible of necessity. There came a time, nonetheless, when he despaired. But it was not for himself he grieved, but for his bird, his pigeon, Prombus.

He had done everything he could to save Prombus. He had cursed himself for his selfishness, knowing it had been want of companionship alone that had prompted him to include the unsuited bird on that journey. And now Prombus was going to pay the price. He had been too dehydrated for tears, yet his cries had been heard all the same. A man had appeared and offered to take Prombus from him, promising to keep him safe, to see him home healthy and happy. He bid Brodon to understand that he made no such guarantee on his behalf. Something about the man forbid suspicion of his intent.

Before the words were clear of the stranger's lips, Brodon had been on his knees, gladly accepting the offer, laughing that the tears his condition denied him were now those of joy. He had felt invigorated, and surprising caches of life-saving water were more frequent than any would expect during the remainder of his journey to Yahebah.

Brodon now looked at the crossed-black-feather image on the ends of the rod and recalled that there had been an identical embroidery on the desert stranger's headcloth. The symbol of Eywaat, the god of birds and ingenuity. Brodon's breath came fast in excitement now. He dared not think himself worthy to have received mere acknowledgement from Him, let alone a gift. He held it to his chest, nearly giving in to tears after all. He felt the cool soak of sea water touch his chest and realized it needed a proper drying off. He picked his shirt back up off the deck and wiped it down to remove the slippery residue.

[Levissa Certier]

The spiritist leaned onto the rails as she peered at the dolphins. Surprisingly, the animals had leaped amazingly high in order to hand everyone some sort of gift. Every gift was different and most of them immediate. Most. When Levi's sacrifice had dissolved into the stirring waves, nothing had happened. Nothing. The girl could only purse her lips tightly as she watched her fellow adventurers as they received their reply from the Sea God. Various magical items filled their hands and Levi could only wonder what it could possibly do. With each passing second, Levi figured that she might not get anything like the others did.

I must have done something wrong.

Her fingers tightened on the rails, fighting back the crashing disappointment. It shouldn't be a surprise. Her sacrifice was probably insufficient. After all, it was just simply her mother's silly good luck charm. It had been a part of her, a constant reminder of the dangers of the world, a way to cling to the small hope that there might something out there looking out for her. A silly jewelry for a small hope.

Just when she was about to turn away, to find her way through the crowd hastily and slipping below the decks, a dolphin leaped toward her. Reflexively, she extended her hand, only to have a small dagger resting snugly in her grip.

She turned over the blade in her hand, marveling at it. As she pulled it out of its sheathe, Levi realized that it was black, fully black from its blade to its hilt. Never had she seen anything like it. It bared no lavish adornments - simple and practical - yet she found that it was beautiful in its own way. The pommel of the blade held a symbol she knew well, symbols that were scattered around her home - Dira. A modest black dagger with Dira's mark - it pleased her more than she thought it would.

The girl gave Laviku a silent thank you, a smile on her lips as she watched the sails billowing with the winds.

[Ialari Pythone]

Ialari was taken aback at the appearance of the water around the ships. So much refuse left to float about... She thought to herself with no small amount of disgust. She couldn't help but imagine what the Dominion's of old must have looked like after the mortal Domineers of the time had used them up. However, as she pondered the display of seeming filth that floated in the water, another thought occurred to her, this one not as negative, as she watched the sailors tossing over their various sacrifices to Laviku. These people, just like those who had littered the sea before them, were sacrificing items of value. The value wasn't necessary in mizas but in sentiment and personal ties. The items meant something to those who gave them up. They gave of themselves out of faith. They had faith in the belief that by sacrificing items of meaning, they would gain Laviku's favor during their journey at sea. Ialari's perception of it all began to change with that thought.

As Ialari pulled her own sacrifice forth, the dagger that symbolized so much and even contained a tiny piece of her actual soul, and dropped it into the sea with her eyes closed. She didn't know what to expect. The idea of her work sinking to the bottom of the sea to rest for who knows how long wasn't exactly a nice idea but the greater meaning behind it helped to sooth the pain of the loss. When the dolphins appeared and began tossing items back to the crew, Ialari was left staring in awe. She had spent a very short amount of time at sea up until that point yet never saw a dolphin before. Somehow, from the looks on the faces of the rest of the crew, these dolphins, this event, was not normal.

She marveled at the different sizes and colors of the dolphins nearly as much as she did the variety of items they tossed back. What did it all mean? As her dagger hit the water and almost immediately vanished, Ialari gripped the rail of the ship as she felt the absence of the dagger. Where she could always feel the presence of the items she had imparted upon, she could no longer feel this one. The feeling off loss was similar to being punched in the gut except in this case it was as if someone had punched her in a much deeper way. The feeling was quite brief though and she righted herself quickly just in time to see the beautiful, pale, luminescent creature rose up and dropped an item in her hands. Ialari gazed upon the odd, bone headband in wonder. It was flexible and felt like it could be metal yet it also resembled bone. The symbols were alien to her which made it all the more interesting; another secret to unravel. She would have tried it on at that moment yet it didn't seem like an appropriate time or place. Running her metallic fingers over its surface, she decided to stash it away until later and placed it in the belt pouch at her waist.

Eventually, the dolphins stopped appearing and the strange event came to a close. As the ships got underway and the journey began, Ialari stood on deck and watched. What she had just experienced left a soft smile on her face that took quite some time to fade. While she still didn't quite understand why she was there, she knew now that whatever the reason was, there was at least some involving by the divine. The gods continued to favor her and in turn she would do whatever she could to prove their faith was not misplaced.